Lubricating apparatus



June 11, 1929.

H. J MURPHY LUBRICATING APPARATUS Filed Jan, 9, 1926A 2 sheets-sheet 1.n.mwmml Imanes@ .1111.16 l, YH. MURPHY.

LUBRICATING APPARATUS Filled Jan. 9, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet APl Ill was@

PATENTgoF-FICE'.

nowaan J. MURPHY, or BADING, Massacnusnr'rs; Assmann, BY MESNE ASSIGN-MENTS, T0 ALEMITE MANUFACTURING QORPORATIUH OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A

conrozeATIoN or' DELAWARE.

LUBBIGATING APPARATUS.

Appncgan mea January 9, .1926. serial No. 80,247.'

This invention aims to provide improvements -in lubricating apparatus. yIn the drawings, which ill strate a' pre# ferred embodiment of myinvention Figure 1 is a diagrammatic'layout of a motor showing partsthereof in cross-section;

Fig. 2 is' a section of one of the chargedetermining lubricant devicesshowing the relation of' the parts when the chargefde- 4terminingchamber is being filled with lubricant; h o

. Fig. 3 is a section of a charge-determlm n lubricant device similar tothat shown in Fig. 2,A but showing the relation of the parts as thelubricant is being forced from the device; -A

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4`4 o Fig. 1, being partly. in elevationand partly in cross-section;- 'A A Fig. 5.is.a section -on the line 5-5of Fig. 1, being'partly in elevation; l

Fi 6 is aplan section of the means for starting and stopping the motor;and

Fig. 7 is a sectional form of charge-determining cup.

'Referring to. the drawings, I have illus' trated 'a4 central.lubricating Vs stem which is particularly, thou h not exc usively,useful for lubricating various parts of a motor vehicle.

The system shown'includes a plurality of lubricant cups v1, connected bya plurality of pipefs 2 to a l 'bricant pump 3. The piston .3a o.

tric 4 driven by asmall electric 'motor 5.

Means for` startin and stopping the motor and means for re ucing thepressure of the lubricant in the system after the motor has.'

stopped are also illustrated.

The general operation of some of theparts that make up the systemaresubstantially the same as shown andl described 1in my copendingapplication SerialNo. 80,243 filed herewith. Therefore the descriptionof this -of the system which arenew.

The means'for starting and stopping the motor 5 includes a pair ofbrackets 6 and 6 -secured to' the dash 7 (shown in dotted lines) ofthevehicle to support a shaft 8.. To one end of the shaft is secured aratchet wheel 9 which cooperateswith a reciprocable. pawl driven centrallubricating systemf view of a lmodified piston member 10 mounted in one'endo of the' braak'- etfa'and reciprocatedby a cam-11 driven bythemotor 5. The other end of the shaft 8 supports a disk '-12 ofnon-conducting material lnto which 'are set'two circular metal pieces13and 14 joinedtogether by a narrow metal piece 15 (Fig. 5). Thecircular piece 13 formsla complete circle and is al- Ways in contactwith an electrical contact 16 carried bythe bracket 6. The metalpiece'14 doesA not form a complete circletheends being spaced apart to providea break in the alsv circuit for purposes more fully hereinafterdescribed.

lThe bracket 6, which carries the contact 16,. alsolcarries a secondcontact 17 bearing against the' disk 12 inthe path of the metal 'piece14, as shown in Fig. 5. The v disk 12 yand the contacts 16and 1 7'cooperate'to provide an-electric switch lfor starting and stoping themotor. The disk is the rotary part of the switchand the contacts thestationary parts to which the wires are secured to conductthecurrentthrough the switch..

.A wire 18 connects the contact 17 with o ne poleof the motor 5. 'A'second wire 19 connects the contact 16 with one side of the batteryother side ofthe battery with the other pole of the motor 5.

20 and a third. wire 21 connects'the The disk 12 carries a lug 22 whichpro- Y jects therefrom into the path of apush rod 23 'secured to thedash and normally urged 4away from the lug by a spring 24. the pump isrecprocated by an eccen-v The means for. reducing thev pressure of t-hevlubricant in the -pipe system and in the cups comprises a small cylinderblock 25 cored to provide a piston chamber 26 (Fig. 5) in' which is.arranged a stem 27 'and' a` ton agalnst the shoulder33 at the end of,the stem as shown in Fig. 5.' One end ofthe stem 27 extends'from'theblock 25. and ellgages the outer peripheral edge of the disk 12,thereby' to control the opening and closing of the outlet 30.

28.. An inlet passage 29' leads into i one end of the chamber 2 6 whilean outlet the valve means and piston as a The charge determining vdeviceor vcup WhichI have illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 comprises a bodyportion formed of two separale partsv presenting, when secured together,a lubricant-measuring chamber 34,-an inlet passage 35 ,and an outletpassage 36. Within the chamber 34 is arranged a piston 37 and valvemeans. The valve means includes a valve 38 at the end of a valve stem 39 secured to the piston 37, and a valve seat part 40 surrounding thestem 39. A cupwasher 41 is provided to prevent leakage of lubricantaround the outer periphery of the valve part 40, a metal washer 42surrounds the stem 39 and presses against the washer 41 and a spring 43is interposed between the piston 37 and the washer 42 normally to keepthe valve 38 against' its seat as illustrated in Fig. 2. The chamber34is enlarged slightly at the inlet end and a relatively weak spring44is interposed between the Wall at the outlet end of the' chamber 34and the valve seat part 40 normally to urge unit toward the inlet end ofthe chamber.

Assuming that the parts of the system are in their vnormal positions, asindicated in F ig; 1, the various parts of the vehicle (not shown) whichare to be lubricated by the central lubricatingl system may beeiiciently and quickly lubricated and the operator need merely push onthe push rod 23 "toldo so. As the push rod 23 engages the 1ug'22, thedisk 12 is turned vslightly so as to bring the energized part 14 intocontact with the contact. 17, thereby completing 'la circuit from thebattery 20 to start` the velectric motor 5. The motor rotates the shaft5` to whichthe cams 11 and 4 arelsecured. The cam 4 in turn operates theplunger 3of the pump 3'to draw lubricant from the lubricant reservoir45, which may. be the crankcase of the vehicle, and forces it. throughthe vpipe system 2 to the cups 1, as more fully described in theabovementioned application. y

' The lubricant enters the inlet passage 35 of the lubricant cup 1 andowsaround the piston into the chamber 34 because of the enlargement atthe inlet end thereof. As the valve 38 is normally closed (Fig. 2)-` thelubricant istrapped in the chamber 34 until it becomes filled, Then thelubricant acts upon the piston and valve means and forces thel whole asa unit against the pressure of the spring 44 to close the space aroundthe piston 37. Immediately after the supply of lubricant Vto the chamber34 is cut oil' by the piston 37, the spring 44 becomes fully lcompressed and provides a stop against further movement of the valveseat part 40, cup Washer 41 and washer 42. As the piston 37 continues onits way into the chamber 34, it unseats the valve 38. As the diameter'of the stem 39 is smaller`than the hole through ratchet wheel 9.

permit absolutely cutting off the passage of lubricant around the pistonto the chamber 34 prior to opening the valve 38, thereby insuring theforcing of a measured quantity of lubricant from the 'cup at eachoperation/ The cup leather of the piston permits passage of lubricantfrom the chamber 34 to tlie'inlet side of the piston 37 during themovement of the piston from the time it cuts off` the supply oflubricant tothe cham-ber until the valve opens. Thereafter the lubricantpresses the cup washer against the wall of the chamber 34 and preventsfurther leakage so that all vthe lubricant may be forced out of thechamber.

I During the time that the lubricant measurmg and expelling means ineach cupis operatmg as described, the cam 11 operates the reciprocablepaWl member 10 to turn the The wheel 9 rotates the shaft-8 and, as thedisk 12 is carried by the shaft, it in .turn is rotated relative to thevcontacts 16 and 17. This operation continues the cups, dei ton 3a theratchet Wheel 9 is turned one.

tooth so that the number of teeth equals the number of strokes requiredof the piston plus the number of teeth it takes to lill the space whichthe wheel is turned when the push rod 23 is operated. When the pump 3has forced the required quantity of lubricant to i the cups 1, the diskWill be turned to the position shown in Fig.' 5 with the Contact 17 outof engagement with the metal piece 14, thereby breaking the circuit andstopping* the motor 5.

During the operation of forcing lubricant to the cups, the piston 28 inthe cylinder 25 (Fig. 5) is held 'at the forward end of the .chamber 26adjacent to the inlet passag"29 by the spring 31 and also by the disk 12which presses the stem 27 inwardly, thereby preventing passage oflubricant through the passage'30. As the disk turns, it keeps the stem27 pressed inwardly until it has vbeen turned to allow the stem toentera low spot' or detent 45. This detent 45 is located at a point on theedge of the disk which will be opposite the end of the stem 27 when thecontact- 17 runs off the end of the piece 14 as above described. Thus asthe motor stops,

"f the .lubricant moves the piston 22S-with the stem 27' to' uncover theoutlet passage' 30 (Fig. so that the lubricant may pass out of the pipesystem 2 through the pipe'y 46, through Vthe chamber 26 and then throughthe pipe 47,-b`ack into thev crank case above l the level 'of' thelubricant therein to -relieve the pressure as shown in Fig. 1.

,The piston 28 is made slidable on the stem 27 to provide safety valvemeans which will operate to relieve the pressure at any time regardlessof the relative position between v continued movement of the piston itengages' lthe stem andthe disk. That is to say, if

for any reason'thelubricant'in the system reaches a pressure which isrgreater than is required to press all. of the' pistons in the cups tothe ends of the chambers' in the cups,

then thespring 31 will yield, and allow the piston to pass the passage36fand relieve the Asystem of. its excess pressure?.

As the motor 5 stops, thefvarious parts of the system automaticallyassume their-normal positionsl so that they may be ready .for

with thecup shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The cup shown in Fig. 7 includes a measuring chamber 48, inlet andoutlet passagesv 49 and 50 apiston 51 and a valve 52 substantially asshown in Figs. 2 .and 3. In this instance, however, the valve seat 53 1sformed integral with the body of the cup between the chamber 48 and theoutletpas sage 50. Instead `of the. piston .and valve stem beingsecuredftogether as 1nA Flgs, 2 and 3, the piston 51.is here shown asslidable relative to the valve stem 54, and lstops 55. and 56 arecarried by the stem 54 to limit the movement of Ythe'piston relative tothe.

stem. A spring 57- is interposed between the piston 51 and the wall atthe end of the chamber 48 normally to urge thefpiston the'enlargedportion of the chamber, and fa second spring V58 is laced in the outletpassage t0 press t e seat53.. n, In operation the! lubricantfirst fillsthe chamber 48, then moves the iston relative to the vstem 54 to cut ofurt er passage ofv lubricantinto the' chamber" 48, then vupon the stopand thereafter moves the va ve `stem-54 to open the valve 52 against thepressure'of the spring 58'to permit the lubricant,

to flow from the chamber-48vthrou`gh the passage 50 tothe part to belubricated.

be understood that changes involving omisvalve' 52 against its sion,substitution, alteration and reversal of parts and even changes in themode of operation may be made without departing freni" -th'e scope of myinvention, which is bestdelined in the 'followingielaims The oil cup formeasuring valve perse,

`disclosed herein, is 'claimed in my copending dlvlsional application,Serial No. 333,226,

filed January 17, 1929.

Claims:

1. A central' lubricating system including a plurality of chargemeasuring and charge delivering lubricant cups, a Apower-driven pistonpump connected to said cups by a pipe system, means for' starting theoperation of said pump to force a definitely measured quantity oflubricant through theppe system to said cups and means associated withsaid .pump for stopping-thev operation of said pump after the piston insaid pump has sufcient to chargesaid'cups.A

loperated a predetermined number of strokes 2. A central lubricatingsystem including a plurality of charge measuring and charge deliveringlubricant cups, a pump having a piston therein for forcing lubricantthrough a pipe systemto said cups, piston operating means and means forstopping the operation of said piston operating means upon completionoffa given number 'of strokes of said piston, whereby a measuredquantity of i .lubricant will be forced to said cups.

' 3. A central lubricating system` including piston therein for forcing.lubricant through a plurality of charge measuring and charge idelivering lubricant cups, a pump having af driven by said pistonoperating means for Y automatically stopping thepoperation of the pistonimmediately subsequent to the com.

redetermlned number of f 'pletion' of a l strokes ofthe piston, wherebya 'measured quantityof lubricant suicientcompletely to vcharge said cupswill be forced 1nto` said pipe system and delivered to said cups.

4. A central lubricating systenr includingl a plurality of chargemeasuring andcharge delivering lubricant cups, a'pump having a pistontherein for forcing lubricant" Athrough a'. pipe system to said cups,-electri.

cally driven means for reciprocating the pis. ton-in' said pump', andelectric'circuit breaking means cooperating with said electrically4driven means to stop the operation of said pump after a predeterminednumber of strokes ofthe piston,l whereby a measured quantity oflubricant suvicient to ,illall of said cups will be forced into saidpipe system.- y

5. A vcentral lubricating 'system including a plurality of chargemeasuring and charge lVhile I have shown and 'described a preferred'embodiment of my invention, it. will delivering lubricant cups, a pump.having a piston therein for forcing lubricant through'- motor fordriving means Vfor reciprocating i said piston, a'switch for making andbreaking a circuit to start and stop ,said -motor, ratchetY and pawimeans connected with said switch and operated by means driven by saidmotor to turn one oi the con- `tacts of said switch relative to theotherfto stop Said niotor'when a predetermined quantity of lubricant hasbeen' forced fromsaid pump.

6. A central lubricating system includiiijg al plurality of chargemeasuring and charge `delivering lubricant ciips,"a pump-having a pistontherein for forcing lubricant through a pipe system to said cups, anelecg tric motor for drivingmeaiis for reciprof eating said piston, asw-itcli for making and breaking a circuit toistart-and stop said motor,lmanually operable means for operfbricant pressure inthe system when.said rotary part reaches a, predetermined point ating said switch tofcomplete a, circuitvfor starting said motor, ratchet and pawl meansoperated bysaid motor for breaking the circuit to stop said motor afterapredeterminedA 'v during its rotation.

8. In a central lubricatingsystem having a pump driven by a motor, anelectric switch wie for starting andv stopping said motor, said `switchcomprising an intermittentlyY driven i disk having an energized portionadapted to turn therewith, a'stationary Contact normally out of contactwith said energized portion of said disk, a lug projecting from saiddisk, a hand-operated plunger for engageinent with said 111g to movesaid disk so as to bring said energized portion into contact with saidstationary contact for starting the motor for operating said pump,intermittently operating means operated by said motor to continue therotation of said disk until -the energized portionv is moved out ofcontact with said stationary `contact and a -lubricant pressed plungerlocated in a cylinder blockV adjacent 'said switch and having ajsteinbearing against said disk to prevent said piston opening a port in saidlcylinder block until said stem enters a detent in said disk therebyrelieving the pressure in the system. L

9i Ina centrall lubricating system having a pumpdriven by a motor, anelectic switch for starting 'and Stoppngsaid motor, said switchcomprising an intermittently driven disk having an energized portionadapted toturn therewithfa stationary contact normally out of contactwith'y said energized portion ofsaid disk, a lugprojcting from saiddisk, a'liiandroperated' plunger for engagement with saidxliig to movesaid disk -so as to bring said energized portion into contact vwith said"stationaryy Contact for starting the' motor forope'rating said pump,

intermittently operating means operated bysaid motor lto continue the'rotation of said disk until the energized portion is moved outofcontact AWith said stationary contact lubricant pressed plungerlocated in a cylinderblock` adjacent said switch and haviliigfa'vstembearing against said disk tov prevent Asaid piston opening a port insaid cylinder block until said stem enters a detent fin saiddisk therebyrelieving the pressure thefsystem, said piston movable against thepressure of a spring to relieve the system of excess pressure 'evenprior to -the entrance of said stem into said detent.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HOWARD JMURPHY.

